Washington star Dockery first to sign with Terrapins

Three-star guard makes it official, realizes his dream

Marcus Dockery, a three-star guard from Washington, has signed a National Letter of Intent with Maryland, becoming the first player to officially join the Terps’ 2020 class.

The 6-foot-2, 170-pound left-hander played his junior year of high school at Bishop O’Connell, the same Northern Virginia program that produced former Maryland star Melo Trimble. Dockery is finishing his high school career at Brewster Academy in New Hampshire.

Dockery was rated the No. 6 player by ESPN in Maryland and the No. 18 combo guard in the country by 247 Sports, which also had him ranked No. 154 overall in the country.

Dockery had verbally committed to the Terps before his junior year.

“I’m very excited to officially sign with Maryland and realize my dreams of playing college basketball for a school I always wanted to attend are coming true,” Dockery said in a statement. “I want to thank Coach [Mark] Turgeon and the entire coaching staff for believing in me and inspiring me to be great. I love the fans at Maryland, can’t wait to play for them. Maryland is getting a great person off the court who brings high energy on the court both on offense and defense. And I’ll always have a big smile.”

In a statement, Turgeon said, “We are thrilled to have Marcus and his family officially sign with us today. Marcus is a combo guard who is a terrific shooter with deep range. He can create for himself and his teammates. He’s a solid young man from a great family in the Washington, D.C., area who really wanted to be a Terp.”

Dockery is expected to help fill the void left by point guard Anthony Cowan Jr., the only senior in the rotation for the No. 7 Terps this season. While Maryland has only one other senior on scholarship, forward Joshua Tomaic, there’s a chance that other spots will open if sophomores Jalen Smith (Mount Saint Joseph) and Aaron Wiggins leave after the 2019-20 season. Both have been projected in mock NBA drafts for 2020.

The Terps are also reportedly pursuing Karim Mane, a 6-5, 190-pound combo guard from Montreal who played in the same Toronto-based AAU program that produced former Terp Justin Jackson. Mane, who is a four-star prospect, took his official visit to Maryland last summer, but also is reportedly being recruited by several blue-blood programs, including Kentucky and Kansas.

Turgeon went to Greece last summer to watch Mane play in the FIBA U-19 World Cup, where Canada finished eighth.